NFL Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars Are Legitimate Threat To Go 0-16

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Missed tackles, too many turnovers, costly penalties and bad defensive play — the Jacksonville Jaguars have the recipe to join the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 2008 Detroit Lions to be the only teams to go an entire season without winning a game.

The Jaguars had their best chance to win a game thus far against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. However, after recovering an onside kick and having the game-winning field goal blocked, the Jaguars lost 16-14 to a team on a losing streak, most recently blowing a 25-point lead last week and playing with a backup quarterback.

This was one of the few games on the Jaguars’ schedule that was winnable. Now the Jaguars have fans thinking 0-16 and feeling that there’s a real possibility of the team packing their bags and moving — possibly even overseas to London.

The Jaguars are the youngest team in the league, relying mostly on rookies and second-year players to make big plays, which usually results in a long season. To make matters worse, their best weapons on offense could be out indefinitely. Cecil Shorts is out with a hamstring injury and hasn’t played a full game, and tight end Marcedes Lewis is down with a serious ankle injury that may keep him out for the season.

Not to mention, there were many boneheaded mistakes during the Titans game. There were several blown coverages in the secondary throughout the day, which made Titans quarterback and perennial backup Charlie Whitehurst look like an All-Pro. Veteran lineman Chris Clemons was flagged twice for lining up in the neutral zone, and a fumble inside the red zone blew a rare scoring opportunity.

Nobody predicted the Jaguars to be a winning team this season, but thus far, the 2014 team has looked worse than the 2013 team. If the Jaguars don’t win in the next two weeks, the schedule gets even tougher and the confidence level will only sink further. Next week, Jacksonville will play a Cleveland Browns team that is surging as of late, then a good Miami Dolphins team that is an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass away from being 3-2.

Then, they play two very good teams in the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys. If they lose all those games, they’ll be 0-10 going into their bye week, which could force any remaining confidence out the door.

When players lose hope in themselves and teammates … well, just ask Matt Millen.

James Carnes is a NFL and College Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JCarnes85, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

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